


Sorry, No Adulting Today

by pharmtechgirl71



Category: The Walking Dead
Genre: Daryl takes a sick day, M/M, Rickyl
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-12
Updated: 2017-05-12
Packaged: 2018-10-31 02:46:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,810
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10890060
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pharmtechgirl71/pseuds/pharmtechgirl71
Summary: Daryl is just tired of it all and wants to rest, but Rick gives him shit about it.





	Sorry, No Adulting Today

**Author's Note:**

> From an anonymous Tumblr prompt. Thank you whoever you are.

Sorry, No Adulting Today

Daryl had always been the adult. Even when he was a child, he had to suck it up and move on. He wasn’t allowed to cry, or throw a tantrum, or hold his breath till he turned blue. Any of those actions would result in a severe beating and possibly a weekend in the hospital. 

As he grew into a teenager and young man, he was the only person in his half-circle of acquaintances who knew what being a responsible adult looked like. He watched his brother and his brother’s friends getting high, getting drunk, sleeping around and breaking the law, and was always the designated driver or recipient of the one phone call.

He tried his best to take care of Merle, but the older Dixon was too much like their father; he had a chip on his shoulder and a God complex. He made stupid decisions and took stupid risks, and Daryl was always there to rescue him.

It wasn’t all bad though; when the world went apeshit, he was well prepared. He took care of himself and his lazy ass brother, letting Merle take all the credit. He did fight Merle on robbing the camp at the quarry, and only lost that argument because Merle was high at the time, and Merle could lift a bus when he was high.

After Merle went missing, he could relax a little. He stayed with Rick and the group and let the leader make the decisions. He watched from afar as Rick and Shane grew further apart; their rivalry for a disloyal woman risking their safety at every turn.

Daryl took the responsibility for finding the little-lost-girl because no one else would. Everyone else was too busy thinking about themselves and whatever petty situation was bumming them out at that moment. Daryl had been completely honest with Carol when he told her he didn’t have anything else to do at the time; his whole focus was saving an innocent, frightened girl who had a shit life. He wanted to do for her what hadn’t been done for him.

When he was involuntarily pushed into the position of Rick’s second in command, he accepted it willingly; at least he wasn’t top dog, and he was happy to do as Rick told him even though he didn’t always agree with him. 

As time went on, Daryl settled into the group and his position within it. He formed bonds he never imagined he would have the opportunity to know and felt more at peace than he ever had. The only thing left to want was a day off.

When Aaron and Eric took them to Alexandria, Daryl was leery. After Terminus, he didn’t trust anyone but his family; all others were a threat, but Aaron seemed like a trustworthy man and the group was desperate for a home. He refused to give in at first, he resisted assimilation in fear of becoming weak and less likely to protect those he loved. 

Then came the super herd, the Wolves, and the Saviors. All of which were vanquished, eventually. Many family members had been lost, Daryl had almost been lost, but he had something to live for, and more accurately, someone.

**************************************************************************************************************************************

One year after Negan was killed and the remaining Saviors surrendered to live amongst the Alexandrians, Hilltoppers, and servants of the Kingdom, life became as close to normal as anyone had experienced since the dead rose. Everyone was adjusting to life again, as they had to do every so often in this new world; without friends and family that had helped them build this life.

The losses hit Daryl especially hard; they always did. He made himself directly responsible for every one of them whether anyone else blamed him or not. His family had tried to gently push him back into the community. Reluctantly, and only because he loved them so much, Daryl had ventured outside again.

Rick had slowly brought Daryl back into the fold as his second; giving him more and more responsibility as time went on. Daryl was acting in more of a vice presidential capacity than a henchman nowadays, but he was happy with it. He had killed too many people and just wanted to rest.

**************************************************************************************************************************************

There were no alarm clocks in Alexandria; everyone ran on their biological clock, especially Daryl. His body brought itself to life every morning as the sun peeked above the horizon. His routine would normally include getting dressed, having a quick breakfast of whatever he could find, and heading out to find Rick and starting their day.

When his eyes opened, Daryl groaned loudly. He tugged the sheet up to his neck and buried his face in the pillow. He was tired; not just physically, but mentally and emotionally as well. He remembered, back before the apocalypse, hearing about something called a ‘mental health day’. He thought it was bullshit then, just an excuse to get out of work, but now he was thinking he might just call in for the day. 

Falling back asleep, Daryl was awoken a couple hours later by a knock on his front door. He wasn’t interested in leaving the comfort of his bed to answer it and ignored it, hoping that he would be able to go back to sleep and whoever it was would go away.

Soon the sound of footsteps stomping down the hallway stirred him again. “Daryl! Where the hell are you?” It was Rick and he sounded worried and pissed. 

“Goddamn Rick Grimes,” Daryl mumbled into his pillow. He didn’t care who Rick was or what he wanted, Daryl fucking Dixon was having none of his shit today.

“Daryl? Are you in there?” Rick asked as he knocked on the bedroom door.

“If I tell you I got bit and turned will you go away?” Daryl asked back as he fought his way out of the blanket cocoon.

“No,” Rick answered, laughing. “But I will put you down. Hell, I’m tempted to do that already.”

Daryl groaned again and got out of bed. Rick jumped in surprise when the door flung open with force. “What the hell do you want?”

Rick threw his hands up in surrender. “It’s ten thirty; nobody’s seen you and your bike is parked out front. Thought you were sick or something.”

“Ain’t sick,” Daryl said as he crashed back onto the bed. “I can’t do it today; I just can’t.”

“Do what?” Rick asked and sat on the edge of the bed.

“Deal with those whiny ass bitches. You’d think that after everything they’ve been through and seen they’d act like adults, but no. They reverted to what they were like when we first got here. Whiny. Ass. Bitches.”

“You’ve been spending time in the library, haven’t you?” Rick asked with a smirk.

“Da fuck is that supposed to mean?” Daryl said. He was about to throat punch Rick out of the house.

“You said reverted. I’ve never…heard you…say that word.” Rick felt the heat of Daryl’s angry stare and looked around the room to avoid it. “I promised Carl and Enid I’d teach them how to drive. That boy drives like Lori; I can’t let that happen. Come with us; it’ll be fun.”

Daryl sunk into the mattress and pulled the sheet up over his head. “I don’t wanna and you can’t make me. You ain’t the boss of me, Rick Grimes.”

Rick tugged on the sheet a little and finally pulled it away from Daryl’s face. “NOOOHOOO!” Daryl whined like a four-year-old.

“Now who’s a whiny ass bitch?” Rick said with a straight face. “You’re a grown ass man, Daryl. As a matter of fact, you’re the adultiest adult I’ve ever known. Suck it up and start the day.”

Daryl sat up suddenly and pushed Rick away. “You have no right to say that, ‘Mr. I’m gonna have a psychotic break at the most inconvenient time’. You took a damn vacation and I took control. I made the decisions, I took care of your kids, I fucking pulled your crazy ass out of the abyss, and you’re telling me to suck it up?”

Rick paced in front of the bed and sighed heavily. Daryl was right, when Lori died and he checked out, Daryl took care of everything. He deserved to have time to mentally recover and recoup from the past year and a half, but Rick was going to have some fun first.

“You’re right; I’m sorry. You deserve to have someone take care of you like you took care of me. Admit it though, you went to the library, didn’t you?”

“Goddammit! Why are you being an asshole? I just want to take a day off.” Daryl’s voice shifted to a higher pitch and Rick thought, just for a moment, that he sounded like Judith when she was upset.

“I’m just messing with you. If it means that much to you, I’ll leave you alone. I’ll tell everybody you have a cold or something and I forced you to stay in bed and sleep. You fought me pretty damn hard, but in the end, you realized that taking it easy would be the best way to feel better.”

Daryl looked at Rick and quirked his eyebrow. “You forced me? You can’t say that shit; it don’t sound right.”

“Why not? I run this damn place. If I tell someone to stay in bed and take it easy, they’re gonna do it.”

“You’re too damn full of yourself. Besides, how many people are you forcing into bed, Rick?”

“You know I ain’t forcing nobody to do nothing. They follow my instructions because they respect me as leader of this community, and I can be a real charming motherfucker too.”

Daryl smirked. “I ain’t gonna argue with you about that. I know how charming you think you are.”

“I’ve charmed you outta your pants quite a few times, ya know,” Rick said, feigning shock at Daryl’s words.

“It wasn’t your charm that got me outta my pants, lawman. It was your giant dick.”

Rick laughed. “Well, thank God for it, then.” He grasped Daryl’s face with both hands. “I don’t care what it was; I’m just glad it keeps happening.” Leaning forward, Rick kissed Daryl tenderly, then stood from the bed.

“I’ll let you sleep, and I’ll make sure you get more days like this. You’re the most important thing in my life, Daryl. I want to make sure you’re healthy and safe. Just promise me one thing.”

“Anything you want, Rick.”

“Let me take care of you; let me make you feel good. Why don’t you meet me at the RV tonight after everyone’s gone to bed?”

Daryl laughed. “You gonna teach me how to drive too?”

“No,” Rick smirked, “but I thought I could take you for a ride, anyway.”


End file.
